this post was submitted on 06 May 2026
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[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 79 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

Kind of reminds me of a sign that they have at Jimmy Johns.

The investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked…

Inside the small boat were several large fin tuna.

The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied…

“Only a little while.”

The banker then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish? The fisherman said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The banker then asked…

“But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman said…

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends, I have a full and busy life.”

The banker scoffed…

“I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a big City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The fisherman asked…

“But, how long will this take?”

To which the banker replied…

“15-20 years.”

The fisherman thought for a moment and then asked…

“But what then?”

The banker laughed and said that’s the best part…

“When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

And, once again the fisherman asked…

“Then what?”

The banker said…

“Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take naps with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine and play your guitar with your friends!”

[–] jama211@lemmy.world 15 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, but then the fisherman became ill and he couldn't afford treatment and lost everything. But the retired banker could fly anywhere and get the best treatment in the world then come back.

It's perhaps a contrived and bad example, but it does show the story glosses over quite a big difference in situation between someone who can choose exactly how they live, vs someone who can just choose a few things about how they live.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

The fisherman had a large family who loved him. His fishing only took an hour or two per day, so he had a lot of time left over. When he could, he loved to play with his kids, take naps with his wife, and play guitar with his friends. But, he was also available when needed for other things. If someone needed help moving, he could help. If they needed to go somewhere, he could take them in his boat. If another family in the village was going through a rough time he could stay out a bit longer, catch a few more fish, and provide for them too.

Then, one day he became ill, and treatment was expensive. He was so loved in the village that everyone took up a collection to help him. They also saved money on his bills by doing as much as they could for him. Instead of having nurses feed him and bathe him, his family and friends did that for him. Since he lived in Mexico and not the USA, his medical costs were not obscene, and he was able to pay for them all, just owing a few loans to other people in the village.

For a while, he spent a bit longer out on the boat, catching a bit more fish to sell to pay off his loans. He also took the son of one of his friends out and taught him the trade, and for that, his friend wrote off that loan. A short time later his loans were all paid off and he went back to the nice, easy fishing lifestyle.

The retired banker had no friends. He had no family. His first and second wives had divorced him because he spent all his time at the office. His kids no longer talked to him, they knew him as that man who always promised he'd come to their soccer cup finals and violin recitals, but never made it. His 22 year old sugar baby had ditched him as soon as he got the diagnosis. He did some research and decided that the best doctors in the world for his condition were in Dubai, so he arranged a private jet to Dubai, rented an apartment for a few months, and hired round-the-clock nurses to take care of him, and a personal chef to cook whatever he needed. The doctor in Dubai was the best, but he was no fool. He quoted a very high price for his services, and then when the banker was in the pre-op room, he came in, announced he was ready to go, but that there were a few other costs he forgot to mention, and he was terribly sorry but the total price was actually triple the original quote. But, if the banker wanted to back out, there was still time. The banker grumbled, but assented, silently appreciating the doctor's hustle.

While he was under anaesthesia, his rivals struck. He'd made plenty of enemies over the years, and so when word was out that he was going under the knife, they planned their revenge. The banker was too proud to be fully retired. He still actively managed most of his money, and had a lot of it tied up in leveraged bets. His rivals jumped on them, spreading rumours on social media and calling up financial news outlets. If the banker had been conscious and online, he could have responded to the attack, but as it was, his positions were crushed ruthlessly.

When he came around after his operation, he checked his phone to see hundreds of urgent messages. He started scrambling to catch what he could. But, in the meantime, his latest payment for his nurses hadn't gone through, so they walked out. Once he stopped the bleeding (money bleeding, not blood), he'd be able to hire some new ones, but that couldn't be his priority yet. He had only hours left to fix his financial health, if he didn't, then his own health didn't matter.

And then Trump bombed Iran.

[–] Sergio@piefed.social 3 points 4 hours ago

fam, you had the perfect opportunity to end with the pro wrestling match with the folding table and Hell in a Cell... BUT WITH MEXICAN WRESTLERS

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